Robinella is the band of singer-songwriter Robin Ella Bailey. The band was first formed as Robinella and the CCstringband in the late 1990s by Robin Ella Tipton Contreras and former husband, Cruz Abdon Contreras (the "CC" in CCstringband) who met while studying at the
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...
, Cruz being a jazz piano major and "Robinella" an illustration/art major.
Robinella.com
/ref> They released three albums under that name before shortening it to simply Robinella with the 2006 release of '' Solace for the Lonely'', an album that began to explore areas of pop
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Pop music, a musical genre
Artists
* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade
* Pop! (British group), a UK pop group
* Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band
Album ...
and funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...
.
The album contains the country weeper "Teardrops," the funky "Waiting" and the uptempo "Oh So Sexy."
Prior to that, much of the band's work could be described as a mixture of progressive bluegrass
Bluegrass music is a Music genre, genre of American roots music that developed in the 1940s in the Appalachian region of the United States. The genre derives its name from the band Bill Monroe, Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. Bluegrass has r ...
and jazz blues
The twelve-bar blues (or blues changes) is one of the most prominent chord progressions in popular music. The blues progression has a distinctive form in lyrics, phrase, chord structure, and duration. In its basic form, it is predominantly base ...
. Notable early songs include many originals by "Robinella" such as "Man Over" and covers such as Nanci Griffith's "Love at the Five and Dime," and "Flashdance (What A Feeling)" from the movie soundtrack "Flashdance"
Robinella released ''Fly Away Bird'', her much anticipated fifth album, in December 2009, along with a live album, ''A Sunday Kind of Love'', which includes live performances from her regular show at Barley's Taproom and Pizzeria in Knoxville, Tennessee, where Robinella performed every Sunday evening for 11 years. Her most current album titled "Ode to Love" was released in 2012, The album consists mainly of love songs and boasts guitarists Frank Vignola playing and co-producing.
Discography
* As Robinella and the CCstringband:
** ''Robinella and the CCstringband'' (Big Gulley Records, 2000)
** ''No Saint, No Prize'' (Big Gulley Records, 2001)
** ''Robinella and the CCstringband'' (, May 20, 2003)
* As Robinella:
** '' Solace for the Lonely'' (Dualtone Music Group, February 21, 2006)
Other contributions
*''Eklektikos Live
''eklektikos'' is a classical chamber music ensemble specializing in the performance of music by contemporary Canadian composers. Based in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, its core members include Dale Sorensen (trombone and artistic ...
'' (2005) - "Tennessee Saturday Night"
Television appearances
* Late Night with Conan O'Brien
''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the second installment of the ''Late Night (franchise), Late Night'' franchise originally established by David Letterman. Hosted by Conan O'Brie ...
- February 25, 2003.[TV.com: Robinella and the CCstringband](_blank)
/ref> Performed "Man Over."
* Soundstage - September 11, 2003
References
American bluegrass musicians
Musical groups from Knoxville, Tennessee
Country musicians from Tennessee
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